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4:55 p.m.
Right at the deadline buzzer, the Marlins and Rays hooked up on a four-player deal, sending out Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson for Baseball America Top 100 outfield prospect Jesus Sánchez and right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek.
3:27 p.m.
STUNNER: Zac Gallen for Jazz Chisholm, straight up. The trade is official.
2:29 p.m.
Both MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro and MLB Pipeline’s William Boor report that the Indians made contact with the Marlins regarding Caleb Smith. The Fish would be seeking prospects in return.
For reference, here is Pipeline’s Indians Top 30 list.
2:14 p.m.
Nothing new to report at the moment, so just passing this thought along...
Hot Take: It's actually good that the specifics of Marlins trade negotiations aren't leaking out. Boring for us, but a promising sign that the key members of the front office are disciplined with sensitive info.
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) July 31, 2019
12:32 p.m.
“It’s highly unlikely [Caleb Smith] gets moved,” per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
The left-hander has established himself as an above-average starting pitcher this year (3.43 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.00 WHIP in 97.0 IP), plus he’s been consistent since returning from a bout of hip inflammation. Smith also carries appeal because his club control carries through 2023.
On the other hand, coming off August 2018 lat surgery, it is unclear whether he can start regularly from now through October for a potential contender.
The expectation has been that the Marlins will stand pat at the deadline with their long-term rotation candidates and reassesses things in the offseason.
12:22 p.m.
Starlin Castro has outstayed his usefulness with the Marlins. Problem is, other teams don’t see the appeal either, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Rather, he confirms Frisaro’s earlier report on Caleb Smith and Nick Anderson, while also citing Trevor Richards and Adam Conley as topics on discussion.
Marlins would love to move Starlin to make room for top prospect Isan Diaz, who came in Yelich deal. Unfortunately, there’s not much of a market for Starlin. Interest in Marlins surrounds the pitchers: Smith, Anderson, Richards, Conley, etc.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2019
The 29-year-old Conley has fallen hard since his initial relief role success. This season, he’s posted a 7.23 ERA and 5.21 FIP in 42.1 IP. However, the tantalizing mid-90s fastball velocity still makes him worth kicking the tires on, apparently.
8:30 a.m.
Through SB Nation FanPulse, Fish Stripes sends out a weekly survey to our readers to gauge your feelings about the Marlins as well as big-picture MLB issues (register here).
On the heels of the Sergio Romo trade and the eve of the deadline itself, confidence in the franchise shot up to 95%. That’s the highest mark recorded all season.
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Curious to see how that fluctuates once all the dust has settled.
Between now and the 4 p.m. ET MLB trade deadline, the Marlins will make a deal. Hopefully multiple deals! But at least one, that I’m fairly certain about. With several pending free agents on their roster and priorities to continue adding young talent and opening major league reps down the stretch for their most seasoned prospects, something’s gotta give.
From “likely” to “long shot,” these are the most movable veterans on Wednesday:
- 2B Starlin Castro
- INF Neil Walker
- RHP Nick Anderson
- OF Curtis Granderson
- LHP Caleb Smith
- LHP Adam Conley
- RHP Trevor Richards
- SS Miguel Rojas
- RHP Héctor Noesí
- LHP Jarlin García
When it comes to Castro’s situation, understand that the Marlins will have to eat the vast majority of his remaining contract—nearly $5 million when accounting for the buyout of his 2020 option year—just to generate any momentum. This front office has been reluctant to do such a thing in similar situations in the past.
Meanwhile, they showed their creativity in the Sergio Romo trade, attaching breakout pitching prospect Chris Vallimont to obtain a more impactful return (first baseman Lewin Díaz). Can’t rule out the possibility of another package following that template.
The latest from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro is that other teams have expressed interest in Smith and Anderson. They would be obvious trade candidates if closer to free agency, but considering that they’re controllable through 2023 and 2024, respectively, the Marlins aren’t motivated to move them for anything less than an extreme overpay.
Granderson tells Frisaro, “everything is going to be normal” for him heading into today. He was traded midseason in both 2017 and 2018. This time around, his market has been silent due to age, mediocre performance and the removal of the August 31 waiver deadline.
Updates throughout the day will be posted to the top of this page.